Race Against Time

My mom loaned me a book in February. It's called Race Against Time by Stephen Lewis. This book is heart-breaking & gut-wrenching. It's about the AIDS pandemic in Africa. Stephen Lewis is a Canadian who is also the United Nations' Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa. I have never felt so sick reading a book before. I have never read a book that has fired me up so much. I have never read a book that has changed me the way this book has. I think everyone should read this book. When I started reading this book, I didn't know what our church was up to. Seriously, this was God, working in me, starting something. This weekend, our church is renting out the Crowfoot Cineplex Odeon - the entire theatre for a campaign called Compassion in Action. We will be listening to a message from U2's Bono and Bill Hybels, the Senior Pastor at Willowcreek Church in Illinois, on this crisis in Africa. Talk about timing. Our church is doing something very cool regarding this afterwards. They've pledged $50,000 towards this crisis, which really is what this situation is. But instead of directly giving this money, they are using it as seed money, giving it to the small groups in our church, who are going to use it to spread the word in creative ways and use the money to make more money, like an investment. I feel humbled to be a part of this, yet also excited. What can we do? What will happen? I can't wait to find out. If you happen to be around this weekend, you are absolutely welcome to come to the theater and hear this message. The word desperately needs to be spread. I will keep you informed as to what happens with this campaign. I am excited to see what God will do.